- Order by phone: 0800 033 8006
- Blog
- Coverage checker
- Store locator
on 18-03-2026 01:07 PM
Recently renewed & upgraded home broadband with new Three router and on looking at the router logs I'm seeing that it's reporting that the device is running a DEBUG kernel "unsafe for production use", which is concerning ?!
**********************************************************
** NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE **
** **
** trace_printk() being used. Allocating extra memory. **
** **
** This means that this is a DEBUG kernel and it is **
** unsafe for production use. **
** **
** If you see this message and you are not debugging **
** the kernel, report this immediately to your vendor! **
** **
** NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE **
on 18-03-2026 01:21 PM
We had the same issue on the Greenpacket Y5-210MU external hub,
There was a firmware upgrade for the external hub in January which eliminated that message but also turned the logging level down so much that there are no longer any useful log messages 😢
We really need something in between to see what the hub is actually doing!
on 19-03-2026 12:25 PM
Thanks for your reply, it's not good, but reassuring to me, in a way, that others have seen the same on different models and that it was fixed ... eventually. Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for an update !
I guess we're in the minority as most customers never even sign into their device, that alone check the logs, so sadly logging levels is a low priority concern for an ISP.
on 19-03-2026 02:48 PM
Hi I also discovered this same DEBUG Kernel message in the logs two weeks ago while trying to solve another issue with this new Three E5-250 MA hub (wireless devices on LAN are unable to communicate with each other when connected to this hub). However a firmware update may not be possible with this hub because in the web admin interface, when you click on the "update" button at the top of the screen it directs you to a non-existent menu option that cannot be selected. So good luck with that. I am very disappointed with this hub and still waiting for Three technical support to offer me a solution to my problem.
19-03-2026 10:07 PM - edited 19-03-2026 10:18 PM
Three apply updates to the hub remotely using a process known as TR069/CWMP,
AFAIK Three have never made firmware updates available for customers to install.
Problems with the TR069 process have caused frequent rebbots and loss of conection for some outdoor hub users but reports had dropped in frequncy leading to hopes the problem had been fixed but a user has reported the issue today 😞